Cycling tour: 4th annual Oryx Challenge benefits USO El Paso

The challenge is geared toward riders of all ages and abilities. Children can ride along with their parents in the short 30K course. The goal this year is to have 600 riders for the Sept. 14 race. (Photos courtesy of USO El Paso)

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Victor Martinez

Marc Cattapan, the adaptive sports coordinator for the Warrior Transition Battalion at Fort Bliss, knows the psychological benefits of cycling.

"A lot of the guys who come back with PTSD have anxiety-related issues and the deep breathing from cycling is actually very beneficial," he said. "It increases the amount of oxygen in their system and getting a good breathing rhythm during and after the ride helps relax the body and the mind."

Which is why Cattapan is excited about having some of the soldiers in the program take part in the USO El Paso's 4th Annual Oryx Challenge Bike Tour on Sept. 14 starting and ending at Freedom Crossing on Fort Bliss.

"The soldiers I work with really look forward to it," Cattapan said. "They cycle four days a week here and they do about 25 miles a day. To try to get them onto a bigger goal, we encourage them to do the Oryx Challenge."

The race offers a 100K challenge and the 30K challenge.

"If they are beginners or have severe injuries, they will probably just do the 30K, but if they are more advanced in their recovery, then they'll be encouraged to do the 62-mile route," he said.

Warrior Transition Battalion provides personalized support to wounded, ill and injured soldiers who require at least six months of rehabilitative care.

The bike challenge is free to members of the Warrior Transition Battalion.

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Robert Medrano, programs manager with USO El Paso, said they wanted to create a fund-raising event that incorporated health and fitness.

"Our service members are all about that and they are held to a higher standard in physical fitness," Medrano said. "We also wanted to incorporate an event that has a large community following like cycling and bridge that gap between the civilian community in El Paso and our military community on Fort Bliss."

The Oryx Challenge, a cycling event heading into its fourth year, has seen an increase from 200 cyclists its first year to 500 cyclists last year. The event is a fundraiser for USO El Paso, which supports local programs on Fort Bliss for the troops and their families. (Photos courtesy of USO El Paso)

The 100K course starts at Freedom Crossing and heads east through Fort Bliss to Montana Avenue and continues east past Hueco Tanks before returning to Fort Bliss and Freedom Crossing.

The 30K course starts at Freedom Crossing and takes cyclists east through Fort Bliss and back to Freedom Crossing.

Medrano said the race has grown from 200 cyclists to 500 in three years.

"Because of the growth, we had to move the event's start and finish line to Freedom Crossing," he said. "The past three years we started and finished at the USO on Fort Bliss. We wanted a festival-style atmosphere for the riders when they returned from their ride and Freedom Crossing provides that."

All the money raised will be used to support local USO programs on Fort Bliss.

"We have a very good mixture of new and experienced riders," Medrano said. "The two distances allows the casual riders to go out and enjoy a nice ride on an enclosed course. But the 100 kilometer course offers that option for the very competitive, high-level cyclist as well as your amateur cyclist who really wants to give a course that size a shot."

Cattapan said the ride also allows soldiers to work as a team.

"Working in a group is very reminiscent of the camaraderie you would get in a squad while you are deployed overseas," he said. "If you stick together and you work together, there's that teamwork component that's very beneficial to them because that's what they are used to, they are used to working together as a team and units in the field."

After the race is also beneficial.

"It helps the guys relax afterwards," he said. "They feel like they got a good workout in, a feeling of well-being and self-esteem."